


maybe it's the providence of the universe

by bubblyying



Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Choi Beomgyu-Centric, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mentions of Emotional Abuse, Not Beta Read, Whipped Choi Beomgyu, beomkai bffs, side yeonbin, taejun stepbrothers, you'd think after 6 fics i'll know what other tags to add
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:46:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25521565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bubblyying/pseuds/bubblyying
Summary: Beomgyu runs a popular Twitter account for his university, posting inspirational and/or soft quotes to brighten up the days of his fellow students while keeping the identity of the account owner secret. But then he meets someone with the most beautiful doe eyes he’s ever seen, the tweets start to revolve around a certain boy…
Relationships: Choi Beomgyu & Huening Kai, Choi Beomgyu/Kang Taehyun, Choi Soobin/Choi Yeonjun, Choi Yeonjun & Kang Taehyun
Comments: 19
Kudos: 233





	maybe it's the providence of the universe

**Author's Note:**

> My ‘debut’ as a taegyu writer hahahaha. I just felt like this idea fits jjokkomis a lot more! If you want, check out my other taejun fics as well! They sit together at lunch (in a good way I hope) <3  
> Inspired by the twitter account @/louvplace
> 
> tw // detailed-ish mentions of past emotional abuse in relationships. If you still want to read on with discretion, I’ve included the tws before and after the part where I talk about it in full.

“Beomgyu-hyung!”

Beomgyu smiles as he puts his phone away. He looked up to see a smiling Hueningkai approaching him, carrying a stack of books in his arms.

“Hi, Hyuka!” He smiled, arranging the mess he had created with all his studying so that Kai could sit down comfortably.

They were suddenly interrupted by a loud ‘ding!’ that resonated from Beomgyu’s phone. The Twitter notifications started flashing on his phone, with users tagging their friends or liking and retweeting his tweets. Beomgyu scrambled to change it to silent mode while Kai burst out into quiet giggles at his expense. Beomgyu shot an apologetic look to the librarian, who was glaring daggers at him, causing him to shrink under her gaze. After a while, Kai settled and tried to glance at the screen of Beomgyu’s phone, laughing at how his friend suddenly scrambled to hide it under the table.

“Oooh, someone's popular.” Kai teased in an exaggerated and obnoxious voice, causing Beomgyu to slap his arm in retaliation.

“Just do your assignment, busybody,” Beomgyu rolled his eyes back. “Isn’t it due in 8 hours?”

Kai pouted, but returned to stare at his laptop. Beomgyu grinned.

An hour of studying later, Beomgyu looked up and was surprised to see Kai turned away from his laptop, whispering and giggling with a red-haired boy that Beomgyu had never seen before. The boy was smiling as he listened to Kai complain on and on about something presumably related to the class they shared. 

_His eyes are so beautiful and sparkly…_

The cute boy must have noticed Beomgyu’s curious staring, and he straightened himself up to look at him. Beomgyu’s breath hitched a little as the cute boy continued to observe him curiously in silence with said beautiful and sparkly eyes. Kai followed the boy’s gaze and grinned sheepishly as he met Beomgyu’s eyes.

“Oh, Beomgyu-hyung! Sorry, were we interrupting you?”

Beomgyu shook his head, smiling good-naturedly. “No, it’s fine, Kai-ah. Was just wondering why you weren’t doing your work like you were supposed to,” he teased a little as Kai rolled his eyes at him.

“Ah, I haven’t introduced you, Taehyunie!” Kai grinned at the cute boy as he gestured towards Beomgyu. “This is Beomgyu-hyung; he’s my childhood friend. Hyung, this is Taehyun, he’s in my music composition class. We were just discussing assignments. He’s really smart and helped me a lot in class!” Beomgyu watched as Taehyun’s cheeks turned pink once they made eye contact, and he smiled reassuringly.

“Nice to meet you, Beomgyu-ssi.” Taehyun’s eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled back. Beomgyu felt his heart skip a beat, and he prayed to himself that he was not being very obvious with how flustered he felt.

“You too, Taehyun-ssi,” Beomgyu’s smile broke out into a grin. “Thanks for taking care of Hyuka, sorry if he’s a bit of a troublemaker - OW! Is that how you treat your hyung?” His teasing ended in a wince as Kai’s shoe landed hard on his, receiving another glare from the librarian as he pouted.

Kai stuck out his tongue cheekily as Taehyun started giggling. Beomgyu’s stupid heart melted again.

“Anyway, I gotta get going!” Taehyun said cheerily, “I don’t want to be late for class. Nice talking to you, Kai!” He locked eyes with Beomgyu and added, “And nice seeing you, Beomgyu-ssi,” now with a softer smile.

“You can join us here later! We’ll be here the whole day! I’m sure Beomgyu-hyung wouldn’t mind, right hyung?” Kai piped up, grinning as he looked back and forth between the duo.

Beomgyu’s brain stopped functioning for a hot second.

“Uh- Erm- Yeah, of course, come over any time, there’s more than enough seats-” He stammered out, praying quietly that his ears weren’t looking too red.

Taehyun flashed him a shy grin. “That would be nice,” he whispered, holding Beomgyu’s gaze for a short while before Kai suddenly cleared his throat. Both Beomgyu and Taehyun seemed to snap out of whatever trance they were in, looking away and flushing.

As Taehyun turned his back and walked out of the library, Kai turned to Beomgyu, a cheeky smirk on his face and eyes turning into crescent moons. 

“What was that look you were giving Taehyunie, hyung~”

Beomgyu glared at his friend. “Just do your assignment already. You have 6.5 hours left.”

Kai squeaked and turned back to his laptop, and Beomgyu shook his head, smiling to himself as he returned to his work as well, even if thoughts of fluffy red hair and the lingering touch of a handshake continued to float through his mind.

**_@abeautifulplace_ **

_I think I saw an angel today. Who? Go look in the mirror._

****

They started hanging out a lot more with Taehyun after that encounter.

While Beomgyu was slightly jealous at the beginning because Kai suddenly started splitting his time between Beomgyu and Taehyun, he could not help but feel proud of his shy best friend, who found it difficult to make new friends in new environments unlike Beomgyu himself. Besides, Beomgyu really would not miss the opportunity to hang out with Taehyun - he quite enjoyed getting to know the younger boy and becoming closer friends each day. Eventually, he got to meet Yeonjun, who was Taehyun’s older step-brother. They instantly clicked and got along like a house on fire, with Yeonjun treating the younger boys to lunch or snacks from the vending machine, or giving them advice on university life, being in his final year after all. 

They also met Soobin, who Taehyun had grown closer to after joining the student council in which Soobin was vice-president of. He and Beomgyu also quickly bonded over their mutual love for video games, and the five of them slowly became an inseparable bunch. Even when they came from different majors and academic batches, the library table that Kai and Beomgyu frequented was suddenly populated with 3 new additions, and even though Beomgyu now had to organize his notes so it would not obstruct the others’, he was happy for the new company.

Not to mention it was pretty entertaining to watch Yeonjun’s shameless attempts at flirting.

(“What’s your favourite animal, Soobin-hyung?” Taehyun asks curiously, after a mini debate about whether cats were better pets than dogs.

Soobin smiles, his eyes brightening up from behind his spectacles. “Raccoons! They’re adorable.”

Yeonjun smirks, straightening his shoulders. “You think raccoons are cute? Hey, you’re cuter.” He raises his eyebrows at Soobin and winks - or tries to, he squints again and winces at his failed attempt.

Soobin ducks his head back into his book, a heavy red blush dusting his cheeks, while Beomgyu, Taehyun and Kai sigh and groan loudly and exaggeratedly. Yeonjun simply flashes a cheeky grin.)

Beomgyu enjoys the time with all of them; he thrives off making new friends, after all. But what he enjoys the most are the moments he gets to spend with Taehyun. 

Not to say that the others aren’t great company at all, of course, but being around Taehyun always feels... different. Despite being younger, Taehyun had a sense of maturity about him and a thought process that was fascinating to Beomgyu, who persisted in bombarding Taehyun with different questions just to get his opinions. It was incredibly easy to strike up a conversation with Taehyun, and even as Taehyun sometimes cheekily complains about always being distracted from his studying by Beomgyu, he still takes the time to think and come up with answers to satisfy Beomgyu. On the other hand, Beomgyu inexplicably finds himself one night, instead of working on his assignment, watching a video discussing whether it was possible to “make a mini-sun using fusion power”, because Taehyun studies for a chemistry minor alongside his music degree, and he understood very little of the chemical terms that Taehyun had dropped over lunch when poor Kai had asked a curious question about whether it was possible to actually give someone the stars. The conversation was long over, yet Taehyun talked about it with such passion in his eyes that Beomgyu could not help but be enthralled by the way he spoke.

In fact, that was one of many situations that had inspired Beomgyu to come up with more... ‘intellectual-sounding’ tweets for @abeautifulplace other than cheesy love quotes and results from searching “inspirational quotes” on Naver or Google. It worked - his followers gave compliments about how much more interesting the quotes were, and it made Beomgyu’s heart warm.

So maybe it was worth the initial confusion and blank stares shared with Yeonjun, Kai and Soobin every time Taehyun started to ramble. 

It was yet another normal weekday afternoon. The whole group was gathered around a medium-sized table in a small café slightly off-campus, after Yeonjun was resolute to, at least for one day, get out of the stuffy library and study somewhere with the added smell of coffee and pastries surrounding them. 

“Taehyun-ah, who’s making you smile like that?” Kai’s teasing voice brought Beomgyu out of his Mechanical Engineering notes, where he had been frowning intently at his diagrams for the past hour.

He looks up to find Taehyun’s flushed expression as he looked up from his phone to meet Kai’s inquisitive eyes.

“It’s not really a person…” Taehyun mumbles, narrowing his eyes at Yeonjun, who was continuously raising his eyebrows in a suggestive manner. “I follow this account on Twitter that posts really nice quotes - they kinda cheer me up when I’m feeling down.”

Soobin smiles. “It’s that beautiful place account, isn’t it? It’s a pretty good initiative from the Peer Helpers club in school. I still don’t really know who runs it, though.”

Beomgyu freezes, glancing down to his own phone as the chatter around him continues.

_ktaehyun and 12 others liked your tweet_

Wait, why was he only realizing now that Taehyun was following the account?

“Beomgyu-hyung? Something on your mind?”

Beomgyu’s head whips upwards at Taehyun’s voice.

“Oh? Nah it’s just… I’ve heard of the account, but I haven’t checked it out,” he says nonchalantly, turning his phone face-down back onto the table.

Taehyun’s soft smile makes Beomgyu’s heart beat a little faster.

“You really should, it feels like a safe space for me.”

“Well… I’m glad it does help you,” Beomgyu says breathlessly, pushing a few strands of his hair in front to hide his ears, which he could feel were burning red. Somehow, with the praise he gets for making his twitter account, it feels a lot more meaningful coming from Taehyun himself, even if the latter was probably unaware that he was praising the account owner himself.

Taehyun giggles, looking back at his phone. “It really does. I would really love to meet the person behind this account, though. Their quotes always brighten up my day - maybe I have a little crush on them,” he adds at the end, slightly teasingly. 

Beomgyu feels his heart skip a beat.

“I-I hope- I mean, I’m sure you’ll like them when you find out who they are.” He replies, tripping on his words, but Taehyun doesn’t seem to notice, instead looking up momentarily just to flash him a smile that has Beomgyu weak in the knees (thank god he was already sitting down).

“With words as beautiful as theirs, why wouldn’t I?” Taehyun says, then turns back to his work.

Beomgyu wishes he could keep that beautiful smile on Taehyun’s face forever.

**_@abeautifulplace_ **

_Your smile shines like a thousand galaxies._

**YJ-hyung**

_hi gays_

_has anyone seen tyun today?_

_he’s not picking up our parents’ calls ):_

**bunny-hyung**

_Student council meeting ended 3 hours ago_

_I thought he said he was going home..._

**best boy kai**

_wait what_

_where is tyun o(╥﹏╥)o @kangtaeh @kangtaeh @kangtaeh_

**YJ-hyung**

_anyone knows where he could have gone?_

_you all know he never misses a message_

_@kangtaeh please answer the gc ): eomma’s this close to calling the cops_

_Wait what_

_WDYM Taehyun’s missing_

_Could he still be in school?_

**YJ-hyung**

i’m sorry to ask but is anyone on campus and free to search for him?

i would but my flu’s getting worse so I can’t do anyth

i’m sick but i’m also worried sick now T_____T aish jinjja this boy…….

**bunny-hyung**

I’m sorry hyung i’m working today:( I’ll spam him with messages whenever i can though

Kai and I can do it!!!

Don’t worry hyung we’ll find him

**best boy kai**

we will!!!!!! 

beomie-hyung and i r on the case＼（＾○＾）人（＾○＾）／

we’ll update you, ik ure worried but please rest, yeonjun-hyung <3

**_@abeautifulplace_ **

_I want you to be safe, always._

Kai and Beomgyu did not know where else to go.

They checked the cafeteria and various food outlets and scoured the entire classroom building. Still no signs of their friend. 

Kai was now fidgeting, his movements becoming slower from where he was walking beside Beomgyu. Beomgyu could sense the worry coming off of him, and even though he was worried as well, he needed to take care of his friend.

“Kai-yah, let’s sit down for a bit okay? I’ll keep searching for him, you can just sit and rest first. Hyung will handle this.”

Kai looked up at him, eyes teary and forehead wrinkled with worry lines. They stared at each other for a moment, Beomgyu levelling him with a determined look, before Kai nodded slowly in agreement. Beomgyu led his friend to a bench nearby, guiding him to sit on it. He continued standing, running his hand through Kai’s soft curls, a movement that the younger boy leaned towards.

Beomgyu pulled away eventually, after he noted that Kai had calmed down a bit more, and gave Kai a comforting smile.

“I’ll text you once I find him, okay? Don’t worry.”

Kai nodded slowly, still deep in thought. Beomgyu planted a kiss in Kai’s hair before walking off.

As it turned out, he didn’t need to wait long to find Taehyun. When he spotted a cherry-haired boy wearing Taehyun’s favourite hoodie sitting under an elm tree in the school’s courtyard, he immediately texted Kai about his whereabouts and walked briskly over to the boy.

“Tyun-ah, where were you? We’re all worried-”

He paused as Taehyun looked up at him, eyes blank and glassy. His phone was by his side, sitting on top of his backpack that looked to be tossed carelessly to the side. The phone continued to light up with message notifications, but Taehyun made no move to reach for it. 

“Taehyun?” Beomgyu asked again, now confused but still concerned.

When Taehyun finally spoke, his voice was hoarse, as if he had been crying for a while before Beomgyu had found him.

“They’re never going to accept me, are they? I messed the entire interview up, I said some things that were not right, I destroyed the chances that I had. I’m a disappointment, why did I think I was going to get this internship? I’m competing against so many people in the cohort, and yet...” Taehyun spilled out, his voice becoming more unsteady as he started to get more and more worked up.

Beomgyu let out a breath, dropping to his knees and tugging the younger boy close, letting Taehyun grip tightly onto his sweater as he held him in his arms, feeling Taehyun’s body shake as he tried to hold back the tears that were returning to his eyes.

Taehyun had been preparing to compete for a prestigious summer internship the past few weeks, where only one student from his cohort would be chosen to work under one of the biggest entertainment companies in Seoul. It was something that Taehyun had been very excited about, constantly keeping the group updated with his plans if he was ever chosen. Even if Beomgyu was not as heavily involved in the Music department, only studying for a minor, he still heard from Kai, who was in the Music Composition department, about how word was buzzing that Taehyun would be the top candidate. After all, he had the grades, the voice, and the stage presence. What more could they ask for?

But Taehyun had just admitted that he had made mistakes during his interview. And knowing the tough competition, Beomgyu was also worried for him. Being the perfectionist that he was, Beomgyu understood how it felt whenever he discovered his own mistakes. He was always hard on himself since young - nothing had to be out of place, everything had to go according to plan. Otherwise, he was a failure, he did not deserve what he had gotten. 

Still, he needed to be there for Taehyun first.

“You listen to me.” Beomgyu said firmly, holding Taehyun closer. “You’re Kang Taehyun. You’re the smartest person I know, yet you’re so kind and sweet and willing to help everyone around you. You have a beautiful singing voice and you even dance well, and you truly stand out every time we see you perform. So the interview may not have gone as you planned it. So what? I’m sure they’ll focus on the good things, because I’m positive that anyone who passes over Kang fucking Taehyun would be making the biggest mistake of their life.”

“B-but there were so many things-”

Beomgyu shushed him again, daring to plant a soft kiss onto Taehyun’s forehead, which immediately stopped the rambling, the younger boy looking up at him with huge doe eyes.

“It’s in the past now. You did the best that you could do. Focus on that.”

Taehyun started to relax in his hold, curling in on himself. Beomgyu continued rubbing comforting circles into Taehyun’s back, humming a soft tune. The weather had gotten cooler and the rustling of leaves of the elm tree they were sitting under provided a relaxing ambience that made the moment seem…. peaceful. Maybe Beomgyu was overthinking it, but it seemed as if it was just the two of them against the world.

Finally, Taehyun pulled away slightly, and the smile he flashed Beomgyu made his heart skip a few beats. His eyes were still shining with unshed tears, but he was breathing more easily, and he seemed calmer. Beomgyu felt himself let out a sigh of relief, and he smiled back.

“Thank you,” Taehyun hiccupped, his smile getting wider.

“Anything for you, Taehyunnie.”

Kai finds them a moment later and immediately crushes Taehyun into a hug, cooing and nuzzling his head into Taehyun’s hair. Taehyun giggled as he returned the hug, and Beomgyu felt a slight squeeze in his heart at how adorable his two friends looked. After a few minutes of the three of them having an impromptu cuddling session under the tree, Beomgyu softly suggested that they returned home, as it was getting dark. They got up reluctantly, retrieving Kai and Beomgyu’s stuff from the library and taking that short 15-minute walk to drop Taehyun at his home, finally continuing on to the best friends’ shared apartment.

And if Kai teases Beomgyu on the way back about him refusing to let go of Taehyun’s hand the entire time, no one else needed to know.

**_@abeautifulplace_ **

_You are worth a lot more than you think._

Beomgyu falls in love with Taehyun more quickly than he realizes.

He supposes that it’s the little things that accumulate into the way he finds his heart beating a little faster every time Taehyun laughs at his jokes, or how he chirps out a happy “Thanks, Beomgyu-hyung!” every Thursday when he joins Beomgyu and Kai at the library table after his morning class and an iced caramel macchiato is waiting at his usual spot. Maybe it’s the way that he sometimes catches Beomgyu staring at him (Beomgyu really doesn’t mean to seem like a creep, he just can’t help but be enamoured at how the sunlight falls onto Taehyun’s face and illuminates it that delicately - or at least that’s what he makes himself believe) and Beomgyu looks away as fast as he can, but he still catches how Taehyun’s cheeks turn a pretty pink as the duo returns to their work. Maybe it’s the way he clings onto Soobin or Kai when the group walks to lunch or dinner, or the way he chides Yeonjun for being too playful yet cares so deeply for him as if _he’s_ the older step-brother that’s so endearing. 

Maybe it’s the way that he had been slowly opening up more and more to Beomgyu after the incident under the elm tree, and Beomgyu started to cherish those moments where it was just Taehyun and not Kang Taehyun, top student and potentially future president of South Korea (Beomgyu kids at the last part, but a small part of him doesn’t doubt that Taehyun could become so if he really tried).

Or maybe it’s the way that Taehyun is just… Taehyun. Surprisingly, with all the quotes he finds for @abeautifulplace and the amount of work he does for his songwriting class, Beomgyu still cannot find the perfect words to describe the ethereal beauty of one Kang Taehyun. It’s ludicrous. 

Kai catches on, because of course he does - 12 years of being by each other’s sides have taught them many things about each other. He leans over to Beomgyu one day as they walk home from their university and whispers teasingly, “So when are you going to ask Taehyunnie out?”

Beomgyu, being the ever-dignified gentleman that he is, lets out a dramatic scream, startling a gathering of birds in front of them, and almost trips over an uneven crack on the sidewalk that he was too distracted to notice. Kai breaks out into his hearty laugh as he watches his best friend struggle to maintain what was left of his dignity (and his balance).

(Then again, even if Kai had never deduced it, he would never have the heart to hide it from his best friend for too long.)

Soobin deduces it too eventually, because the psychology major has always been one to be able to observe and notice little things about his friends. Sometimes Beomgyu does blame his expressive personality on possibly revealing how obvious he always was with his emotions, but Soobin is understanding and so _so_ sweet, as usual, and he ruffles Beomgyu’s hair and tells him that he is rooting for them. He then catches an armful of grateful Beomgyu, causing him to almost tumble from his chair and attracting a few strange looks from the other students in the library.

Beomgyu loves his friends. But he concedes that his love for Taehyun is just a little bit more special.

Oh god, he’s in _love_ with Taehyun.

Beomgyu has a mini crisis in the middle of the night in his bedroom when he realizes, but no one needs to know that.

But the cherry-haired boy had always been rather protective of his own emotions, so Beomgyu cannot deduce whether it’s too much to yell out, “I LOVE YOU KANG TAEHYUN” in public, without even being able to tell whether Taehyun likes him back or not.

So he is content with watching from afar. For now, at least.

The group, excluding Taehyun who had back-to-back classes, were sat at their usual table, absorbed in their work - a rare sight for the usually-chaotic group. The threat of midterm examinations was looming in on each of them and they had their phones placed together in the middle of the table, the agreement being that the first person to pick up their phone would treat the whole group to dinner.

It lasted a good 2 hours. And then their phones buzzed at the same time, flashing a flurry of text messages with Taehyun’s contact name attached, and the rule suddenly became the last thing on their minds.

**taehyunnie <3**

guys

GUYS

GUYSLKJFHGDLSHGDSGFD

**bunny-hyung**

What’s up tyun-ah?

taehyunnie!

did smth happen?

**taehyunnie <3**

I DJFKGSHLGKGDSFGDS

THE RESULTDFKGLHGUIW

I’M COMING OVER WAIT FOR M E

Beomgyu looks up from his phone and meets the confused stares of the rest of his friends. They were not expecting Taehyun to meet them at the library in the next 3 hours, what did he mean-

A red-haired boy burst through the doors of the library, making his way straight to their table. 

As he reached his friends, he bent over to catch his breath, one hand on his knees while his other hand gripped tightly onto his phone, the screen still illuminated. The backpack he carried moved up and down with the way his back was heaving. His hair was in a mess and his clothes were slightly damp in sweat.

Kai hesitates, unsure of whether to guide Taehyun into a chair or to leave him be. “What’s up, Taehyunnie? Don’t you have class soon?”

When Taehyun looks back up at them, a smile stretches across his face and his eyes sparkle with happiness.

Their friends are silent, waiting for Taehyun to continue speaking.

“Guess what! I got the internship!” He brandishes the screen of his phone, showing the acceptance email.

Yeonjun is the first to stand up and let out a loud whoop of excitement, crushing the smaller boy into a big hug and raving about how smart his little brother was, while said little brother whined and struggled to come up for air. A loud hush from the librarian later (Beomgyu wonders why she has not imposed a ban on the whole group yet, with all the noise they generate when they forget where they are, but maybe underneath the stern gaze lies just a little bit of fondness.), he finally releases Taehyun, both of them grinning widely.

When Taehyun can finally breathe, he accepts hugs from Kai and Soobin as well. Beomgyu stands to the side nervously, waiting for his turn, and then as Taehyun walks towards him, he opens his arms and says fondly, “Congrats Tyun.”

Taehyun beams and hugs him back. It only lasts a few seconds, but Beomgyu swears to himself that his heartbeat accelerates an abnormal amount when he sees Taehyun’s face relax into a soft smile directed at him.

They only look away from each other when they hear one of their friends clear their throat behind them.

Taehyun waves goodbye, saying that he’s heading to his next class now, and that he only rushed over because he wanted them to know the good news. After Taehyun is out of sight, Kai pokes fun at and mocks Beomgyu, cooing and wiggling his shoulders as he pinches Beomgyu’s cheeks. Beomgyu throws a wadded paper ball at him, his ears so bright red they could be seen from outer space - which is what Soobin remarks while giggling along. 

Yeonjun says nothing, and he just watches with an amused grin on his face, a knowing look on his face that goes unnoticed by the other two. But when Beomgyu looks nervously at him, wondering if Yeonjun had actually caught onto his crush, he just smirks. As the older boy turns away from Beomgyu, he makes eye contact with Soobin and winks (or tries to again), turning back to his work. (He misses the way Soobin gets flustered and rearranges his papers even as they remain in that extremely neat pile.)

“Wait, so who picked up their phone first?”

**_@abeautifulplace_ **

_You deserve everything good you’ve gotten._

It’s just Taehyun and Beomgyu today.

Yeonjun had been cooped up in the university’s dance studio for most of the day, practising for the upcoming recital he was to be a part of the week after. Soobin was working a shift at his part-time job, and Kai was out meeting other friends for the day. So Taehyun had invited Beomgyu over to his house, because why not?

They were silent, absorbed in their work as a study playlist played in the background. 

Beomgyu finds himself spacing out after a couple of hours, mind going blank. He leans back until his back hits the foot of Taehyun’s bed. He had been sitting on the floor the entire time, spreading his notes all over the floor so that he could always glance towards whatever information he needed to retrieve for his assignment.

He lets out a loud groan as he squeezes his eyes shut, unable to continue reading any further. Maybe a few minutes of sleep would be nice….

He feels a dull pain as a pen hits him in the forehead.

“What was that for?!” He reluctantly forces his eyes open to look up at Taehyun, pouting at how the younger boy was giggling where he was sitting on his chair. 

“Hyung~” Taehyun teased with a grin. “This is like the third time you’ve dozed off today. And you were literally the one who told me to wake you up if I ever found you slacking off.”

Beomgyu pouts even more as he sits up straight. Taehyun wasn’t entirely wrong, but his own pride was on the line here.

“But I just want a bit of rest…” he grumbles, loud enough for Taehyun to hear him.

“Says the one who slept for 20 hours on Saturday-”

“Yah! Don’t call me out! There’s never enough time for sleep.” Beomgyu shouted playfully, standing up and pointing a threatening finger at Taehyun.

Taehyun just smiles innocently and turns back to his work. Beomgyu could still see his shoulders shaking and the way he couldn’t hold back a little giggle.

“Beomgyu-hyung,” Taehyun says slyly, still absorbed in his work even as Beomgyu approaches him, “and to think I’m the younger one in this friendship-”

Taehyun’s sentence ended with a squeak as Beomgyu tackled him from his chair and onto the ground. 

“Hyung!” Taehyun breaks out into giggles as he squirmed away from Beomgyu’s tickling fingers. Beomgyu, on the other hand, was grinning almost-maniacally as they wrestled with each other on the floor.

Eventually, Taehyun gets the upper hand and manages to break free from Beomgyu’s grasp. As the both of them continued to clutch their stomachs, hurting from laughing too hard, Taehyun leans in close to whisper to Beomgyu in between his giggles.

“Ha, I guess I’ll always be stronger than you-”

Taehyun’s words trail off as Beomgyu turns to face him and he realizes how close their faces were to each other.

From where he was sitting, facing Beomgyu, the evening sun rays coming from the bedroom window fall onto Taehyun’s face in a delicate way, and Beomgyu finds that his breath is caught in his throat as he stares, mesmerised. He watches as Taehyun flushes under the intensity of his gaze and looks away, and he suddenly feels a little braver. He cups Taehyun’s face with both hands as he leans in, until they could feel their breaths on each other’s faces.

“Can I do something?”  
  


Taehyun glances up at him, soft and shy. And Beomgyu notices the determined look in his face as he nods, his hands landing on Beomgyu’s shoulders.

Beomgyu closes his eyes, tilts his head, and leans in further.

He feels Taehyun react to the kiss, a hand behind Beomgyu’s head pulling him closer. It felt like everything else in the world had frozen around them, as if nothing else mattered. 

Beomgyu dares himself to feel a slight twinge of happiness, and of hope. Maybe…. Maybe he could savour this as long as he could?

_“Are you delusional? Do you really think you can find someone else who loves you as much as I love you? Get a grip, Beomgyu. The world is a cruel enough place. We need each other. You need me.”_

_“Why are you being like this?” Beomgyu remembers himself yelling back._

_“I’m just telling you the truth of reality. Don’t be so sensitive, god you always do this.”_

Beomgyu jolts back as if he was shocked, suddenly clutching his heart. He sat back, trying to catch his breath.

“Beomgyu-hyung?”

Beomgyu felt his chest tighten uncomfortably and his eyes water a little as he backed away quickly from Taehyun. It was too much - everything was overwhelming and he thought he saw a glimmer of hopefulness in Taehyun’s eyes - but Beomgyu could never- he couldn’t be the one to hurt Taehyun-

_“No one would want you after I leave you, Choi Beomgyu. Just think about that.”_

He had to get out. He needed to leave this situation.

“Beomgyu-hyung?” Taehyun’s voice repeats again, now looking at the older boy with concern. He reaches a hand out towards Beomgyu, but that only makes the brunette back away even more, shaking his head furiously as he rushes to gather his studying supplies and place them into his bag.

“It was a mistake, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have.”

“W-Why-” 

“I’m sorry, Taehyun.” Beomgyu says a final time, then the door closes behind his scared, retreating back.

He misses Taehyun’s look of devastation as it crosses his face, and how he buries his head in his knees to muffle the sobs that were about to escape.

Yeonjun comes home soon after, calling excitedly for Taehyun to come down for dinner because he brought back his favourite cheese tteokbokki for dinner. After receiving no reply, and knowing that Taehyun _was_ at home, he heads up to check on him. One look at Taehyun’s tear-streaked face has Yeonjun’s appetite completely gone, and he holds his little brother close as Taehyun cries into his shirt.

“Please talk to Hyungie, Taehyun-ah.”

“Hyungie, does Beomgyu-hyung not actually like me back?”

Kai reaches home at night to find Beomgyu curled up on the couch, wrapped in a blanket while staring blankly at the black television screen. He cautiously takes a seat beside Beomgyu and wraps his arms around Beomgyu’s shoulders, occasionally patting his head. Beomgyu buries his face into Kai’s shoulders, relishing in the comfort of his best friend.

“Beomie-hyung, what’s wrong?”

“Kai-yah, I think I messed up with Taehyunnie. Jaesang was right, wasn’t he?”

"... Beomgyu-hyung... don’t say that. Please, don’t believe him."

Neither Taehyun nor Beomgyu got a lot of sleep that night.

**_@abeautifulplace_ **

_I overlooked your happiness in an attempt to make myself happy, only to realize that my happiness lies in yours. Please forgive me if you can._

“Choi Beomgyu.”

Beomgyu stopped in his tracks, causing a few classmates to bump into him as they made their way out of the classroom after lessons had ended. He hastily bowed apologetically to them, trying to stall for time before meeting eyes with someone he did not really want to see at the moment. But the presence was still there, after he had run out of excuses in his head to escape the conversation.

“.....Yeonjun-hyung.”

He looked up into Yeonjun’s eyes. The older boy had his arms folded across his chest, unsmiling and sombre. It seemed as if he wanted to say something, but the crowd that formed around them as students scurried off to the next class deterred him.

“Can we talk for a bit? Please? I know you don’t have any more classes for the day.” Yeonjun’s voice softened, as it seemed that he took in Beomgyu’s disheveled appearance - hoodie placed over his head to hide his messy hair and puffy eyes with dark circles underneath from lack of sleep.

Beomgyu gulped. Yeonjun would definitely have known what had happened by now between him and Taehyun. It’s been a few days since the incident in Taehyun’s room, yet to Beomgyu it felt like centuries without talking to the one he loved.

But he nodded anyway, and Yeonjun turned around to walk down the hallway, occasionally looking back to make sure that Beomgyu was following him.

The walk was quiet and slightly awkward. Yeonjun mostly kept his head forward, except when he opened the door for Beomgyu to step out of the university building and onto the campus lawn. Beomgyu did not mind the silence that much - he did not want to accidentally say anything else that would offend Yeonjun even more, after all.

(But as they continued walking with no end in sight, Beomgyu started wondering if Yeonjun had brought him out just to murder him and leave his body to rot-)

Yeonjun stopped under a large elm tree that was located at the corner of the school. 

It happened to be the exact same tree that Beomgyu had held Taehyun close that one evening. Beomgyu felt his eyes tear up and he cursed himself in his head - _stupid, stupid, you messed this all up- -_ but he blinked furiously, letting out a shaky breath to calm himself down.

Yeonjun settled himself in a well-shaded spot of the tree, patting the dry ground beside him and cracking a soft smile. His stern facade was all gone, and while his smile had yet to reach his eyes, his eyes sparkled with the fondness that Beomgyu found familiar and comforting. And so Beomgyu complied, settling down and pulling his knees to his chest, hugging his legs with both arms.

They sat in silence, listening to the birds chirp and the leaves of the nearby trees rustle in the breeze, before Yeonjun finally started to speak again.

“I should hate you,” Yeonjun sighed, “but I just can’t. You’re still my friend. Even if I’ve always said that I would punch the next person who breaks my little brother’s heart, I can never bring myself to do anything to you.”

Beomgyu nodded, crossing his arms more tightly around himself. He looked out onto the wide campus lawn, watching the basketball team shout enthusiastically as they ran around the basketball court. A distraction.

“How is he?” Beomgyu finally whispers, quiet enough that only Yeonjun could hear him.

Yeonjun let out another soft sigh, fidgeting with his fingers. “He’s….. functional. He still goes to classes, he still eats at meals. But…” Yeonjun shakes his head, now clenching his fists. “He’s not himself, Beomgyu-ah. He locks himself in his room any chance he gets, he goes silent when I ask him how his day is. Soobin and I have tried so many things - inviting him out for ice cream, playing soccer with him…. but he barely smiles anymore. And he doesn’t even need to tell me anything,” and Yeonjun frowns again, turning to look straight at Beomgyu, “but I know it’s because he misses you.”

Beomgyu’s heart sank. “I-I never wanted to hurt him-”

“I understand.”

The two were silent for a moment.

“Beomgyu-ah, does this have to do with your past relationship?”

Beomgyu startled as he turned back to Yeonjun, only to find him staring back intently. 

“H-Hyuka told you?”

Yeonjun heaved a sigh. “He…. He left out the details, but I didn’t really need the whole timeline to conclude that some asshole hurt you enough that it had been difficult for you to get into relationships since your break-up.”

Beomgyu closed his eyes slightly. Kai truly always had his back. From noticing the warning signs surrounding Jaesang since the early days of their relationship, to finally forcing Beomgyu to end things (albeit messily) between Jaesang after months of witnessing the emotional abuse towards his best friend. While he was still admittedly slightly upset that Kai had made the mention of Jaesang's existence to Yeonjun, it did register that Kai still had his best interests at heart, and he probably had a good reason for what he did. He always did, after all.

“That’s the long and short of it, yeah.” He chuckled mirthlessly.

“I just wanna ask you this.” Now Yeonjun looked directly into his eyes. “Gyu, do you truly like Taehyun?”

“Yes.” Beomgyu let out a deep breath, releasing the tension in his shoulders. “I do, hyung. I love him so much it hurts. I know I shouldn’t have let my past experiences determine my future, because Taehyun is absolutely nothing like Jaesang… but I was scared. I just didn’t want to get hurt again.”

He looked down in shame, but jumped again as he felt arms wrap around him into a comforting hug. He gripped the front of Yeonjun’s shirt, trembling a little. Yeonjun was rubbing circles into his back, which helped him to calm down the nerves that were still lingering in him.

Yeonjun spoke again, but in a much softer tone. “Gyu-ah, you’re so brave, do you know that? I may not know the full story, but I’m so proud of you for overcoming this. Just know that you can and will be able to move on from this and you are worthy of happy relationships, okay?” Saying this, Yeonjun pulled away a little to place a soft comforting kiss on the top of Beomgyu’s head, looking down at him with fondness in his eyes.

Beomgyu swallowed, willing himself not to cry - he had done too much of that over the past few days, after all.

“Thank you, hyung.”

“Anything for you, Beomie.”

Yeonjun’s smile grew and one of his hands lifted to pat Beomgyu’s head. Beomgyu leaned into the touch and his eyes fluttered close as they remained in that position for a while, until Yeonjun’s phone buzzed. The older pulled away to look at the screen on his phone and hummed, before turning back to Beomgyu again.

“The only thing I have left to say is: please talk to him, Beom. I don’t want either of you to lose what you have.”

_Have_. Present tense, huh? Did he and Taehyun really still have a chance?

Yeonjun gave him a sad smile when Beomgyu looked as if he was too deep in thought to respond. He pushed himself upright, brushing the grass stains from his pants. “I… I gotta go now. I promised Taehyunnie I'll take him out for lunch. I think his class is ending soon. Please take care, Beomie-ah.”

_Tell him I miss him._

Beomgyu simply nodded and with one last ruffle of Beomgyu’s hair, Yeonjun left. Beomgyu waved goodbye, only dropping his hand when Yeonjun was out of sight. He remained under the tree for a while, deep in thought.

**_@abeautifulplace_ **

_I want to make it better, if you’d let me._

Beomgyu texts Yeonjun as he approaches the front door of the Choi-Kang household. Yeonjun replies more earnestly then he usually does, saying that he’ll be out of the house to give them some privacy. But even Beomgyu knows that Yeonjun was headed to find Soobin at the ice-cream parlour he worked at, if the frantic texts from Soobin to the groupchat that Kai had made for Soobin to scream about the eldest was any indicator ( _“HE ASKED???? WHETHER I’M ON SHIFT TODAY??????” “HE’S COMING TO SEE ME WTFJKDHGSGLSDGHGDS”_ preceding a lot of incoherent keysmashing). 

He opened the front door with a soft click (unlocked courtesy of Yeonjun), making his way upstairs to a path he had memorised by heart. He paused as he stood outside Taehyun’s door, his fist paused in the air before he could knock on the door.

Would Taehyun still want to see him? After what had happened in that exact room the week before?

Beomgyu swallowed and took a deep breath. It was now or never; he can’t run away from his problems forever.

He rapped his knuckles against the door and stood back, waiting.

“Hyungie, didn’t you go to see Soobin-hyung? What do you need?” Taehyun’s voice called out from behind the door. It sounded hoarse and thick, as if he had just finished crying a while ago - Beomgyu’s breath hitched a little.

Beomgyu hesitated - Taehyun must have thought that he was Yeonjun.

“I-It’s… it’s me, Taehyunnie. Yeonjun-hyung let me in. Can we talk?”

Silence from the other side of the door. Beomgyu bit his lip and shifted uncomfortably on his feet, staring at the doorknob.

Soft padded footsteps got louder and the door opened with a soft click. Taehyun stood facing him, drowning in an oversized sweater that was even too big to be his. His hair was messy and his eyes were also puffy red, quite unlike the put-together and presentable Taehyun that Beomgyu had always known. But to Beomgyu, he was still breathtakingly beautiful, and he felt his heart skip another beat.

“Beomgyu-hyung.” Taehyun acknowledged quietly. Without another word, he opened the door fully, stepping aside and gesturing for Beomgyu to enter. He headed for his own bed and sat down, pulling his knees to his chest and resting his head on them. He looked small and tired and Beomgyu felt that pang of guilt in his chest again.

He gingerly took a seat next to Taehyun on the bed. The silence was awkward and deafening all at the same time. 

None of them spoke for a while. Finally, Taehyun whispered, tilting his head slightly to look at Beomgyu. “Why are you here?”

Beomgyu inhaled in a shaky breath, clenching and unclenching his fists as he tried to calm down his rapidly beating heart.

“Taehyun, I have a story to tell you. But it won’t be a good one.”

Taehyun stayed silent, and Beomgyu could still feel his earnest gaze on him. 

“I’m always listening.”

Of course he was. He always was. 

**(tw // detailed-ish mentions of past emotional abuse in relationships.)**

“10th grade of high school,” Beomgyu began, “since it all began.”

“I was separated from my friends from middle school since we enrolled in different high schools, so I entered on the first day by myself. It usually takes me a few days before I warm up to people, so I was surprised when this boy approached me in the classroom, wanting to be friends. His name was Jaesang, and it turned out we were seatmates for the rest of the year as well. I don’t know how, but we grew really close to each other and became instant friends.

A few months of being good friends, I started to develop a crush on him. He was always very charismatic, you know, always helping out the people in need, always being kind and respectful to everyone regardless of age. He had the hearts of every girl (and some boys) in the class, and of course I was included in that equation.

I confessed to him a month before the school year ended, and it turns out that he did reciprocate - or at least that’s what he said. So we started going out as a couple.

It was like a fairytale, Taehyun. He was always so gentlemanly to me, he went out of his way to walk me home after school or our dates, he was always kind and gentle with me. But that lasted until 11th grade.”

Beomgyu paused for a moment to catch his breath, almost feeling overwhelmed with the information he was giving. Before this, Kai was the only person who knew what was happening. 

“Kai ended up enrolling into the same high school; a year younger than me, of course. So naturally I started to split my time with Kai and Jaesang, and sometimes we would hang out together as well with our other friends. But I guess Jaesang didn’t like that Kai and I were best friends. Kai had told me during our relationship that Jaesang had made snide remarks towards him when I wasn’t around and that he felt uncomfortable being around him because he gave off ‘negative vibes’. At that time, I dismissed it as how Jaesang was probably just not used to having Kai around, but I should’ve known better. He started being hostile and aloof towards our other friends as well, and made excuses for the two of us to be alone. Soon enough, we _were_ alone. I had to meet Kai in secret because he stopped wanting to hang out with me when Jaesang was also around.

He started to treat me…. differently. He wanted me home at certain times, except for when we went out on our dates. He tried his best to be there with me during my free time, to the point where I had to make up excuses just to hang out with my other friends. And every time we did anything, it had to be on his terms, at his request. Whenever I tried to suggest things, even when unrelated to our relationship, he was adamant that I had to listen to and abide by his opinions in every decision I made. When I tried to argue back and justify my point of view, he always managed to convince me that I was too sensitive and that I had to listen to a more rational point of view. He was referring to himself, I suppose. He made me feel as if no one else could love me as much as he loved me, and eventually, I started to believe him.”

“Beomgyu-hyung…” Now Taehyun’s voice softened to one laced with concern and empathy. Beomgyu could feel Taehyun moving closer to him on the bed, but he continued to look down on the floor, fidgeting with a loose strand on his cardigan. And then suddenly, Beomgyu felt arms wrap around his right arm and a head leaning onto his shoulder, and his heart melted, but he had to continue his story.

“Kai kept warning me, of course. He suspected that some things were weird from the very start, and he kept trying to convince me to leave the relationship, because I really couldn’t keep any more secrets from him. It got so bad that we got into a huge fight over this just because I thought he was jealous of me being in a relationship. After that incident, I didn’t reply to Kai’s messages for a week, but I could see him sending websites and resources that detailed information about emotional abuse. And then one day…. I decided to read them all.”

Beomgyu’s face fell even further as he felt himself choke up. The arms around his tightened.

“I…. I read everything. All the signs pointed to Jaesang. That was when I finally woke up, and realized what he was doing to me. I called Kai that very same night, experiencing my first panic attack and practically begging him to help me leave Jaesang.”

Beomgyu could feel tears rolling down his cheeks.

“It took a lot of days of compiling evidence, gathering the support of our other friends and eventually telling my parents and brother about everything that had happened, before we finally managed to get a restraining order against Jaesang. He couldn’t get expelled from our high school, but I had my friends and Kai around me every step I went, just to make sure he couldn’t bother me in person again. He tried creating different social media accounts to contact me as well, but I kept blocking him, and eventually… I guess he got tired of me. That’s kind of how I want the story to end, because the nightmare finally ended.”

**(end of tw)**

“I-I…. about last week, I’m sorry I ran away. But I figure that if I explained everything, you would understand that that kiss brought back flashbacks of a situation that I wished I could move on fully from. So…. yeah. I hope you don’t hate me for that.”

Beomgyu finally stopped speaking, instead reaching his free arm up to wipe his tears with the sleeve of his sweater. Taehyun’s arms left Beomgyu’s, but before Beomgyu began to miss that touch, two hands reached up to touch his cheek gently, and Beomgyu froze as Taehyun nudged his other arm away to wipe away the rest of the tears with his thumbs.

“Hyung…. Thank you for trusting me with this.”

Beomgyu could finally feel himself breaking down fully. His chest heaved as the stresses of the past week finally came crashing down on him, and Taehyun’s arms wrapped around him as he sobbed into Taehyun’s shirt. The younger boy was whispering encouraging words to him, all while rubbing soft circles into his back and patting his head. Beomgyu shook as he gripped tightly onto Taehyun’s arms, relishing in the warmth.

It felt like home.

When Beomgyu had finally calmed down, Taehyun pulled apart, now looking straight at Beomgyu with a sad smile on his face.

“Beomgyu-hyung, you’re so brave. I’m glad you managed to walk away from what was hurting you.”

Beomgyu smiled slightly back at Taehyun. “You kinda sound like Yeonjun-hyung, y’know.”

Taehyun chuckled at the comparison. “Well, I learn from the worst,” he jokes, rolling his eyes.

Beomgyu smiles, and the two of them fall into a soft comforting silence for a moment. Beomgyu looks down at where their hands had somehow found themselves intertwined. He never knew how just a simple touch could make him feel so warm, safe and loved.

Only Taehyun could do these things to him, he supposes.

“Taehyun-ah, I need to tell you something. I’m the owner of @abeautifulplace.”

It feels like a wave of relief to push this confession from his chest, though Beomgyu does wonder why it had taken him so long.

“When I got into university,” Beomgyu muses, “I joined the Peer Helpers because I was still going through some lingering issues after Jaesang. And then I started @abeautifulplace because I wanted a safe space. I wanted people to find comfort in words, and while a twitter account may not be certified therapy, I believe that if I had found such an avenue that promotes self-love, positivity and good feelings during my relationship with Jaesang, I would have been able to gather up the courage to end things way sooner than I did.”

Taehyun simply hums in response, and Beomgyu raises an eyebrow at the lack of surprise in his expression.

“Don’t tell me you already knew-”

“I didn’t, actually, but I’m not that surprised - you’ve always written beautiful lyrics during your songwriting, after all.”

Beomgyu feels himself flush and he looks away, flustered by the praise. It felt like deja-vu after the first time he realized that Taehyun knew about the account, but he was never going to get over such pretty words said by the prettiest boy he knew. He hears Taehyun’s laugh and he pouts a little.

“Well then, Taehyunnie,” Beomgyu cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure, “since you already know that I’m behind the account, do you mind checking @abeautifulplace? I… may have written something. As an apology.”

Taehyun tilted his head cutely, contemplating. Finally, he nodded slowly and reached for his phone. He tilted the screen slightly, so Beomgyu could see when he landed on abeautifulplace’s profile page and when he started to read the latest few tweets.

**_@abeautifulplace_ **

_Kindness, passion and beauty. That is what you are._

**_@abeautifulplace_ **

_There are roughly 6500 languages in the world, but there aren’t enough words to describe how lovely I think you are._

**_@abeautifulplace_ **

_How do I come up with the words to tell you that I love you?_

**_@abeautifulplace_ **

_I love you, I do. I’m a better person because of you._

**_@abeautifulplace_ **

_Let’s create our own story together._

**_@abeautifulplace_ **

_You are truly the most beautiful person I’ve ever met. I want to be the reason that you smile everyday. I hope you accept this confession of mine._

Taehyun turned towards Beomgyu again, blinking slowly in confusion. “These are sweet, but what do you want me to see here? Aren’t these just what you regularly post on this account anyway?”

Beomgyu lets himself smile adoringly at Taehyun’s dumbfounded expression. “Take a look at the first letters of each sentence.”

Taehyun obliged, and his eyes widened as he repeated the letters. “K, T, H, I, L, Y-”

“Kang Taehyun, I love you.” Beomgyu declared. His heart was beating a million times in his chest.

Taehyun looked up at him slowly, his eyes sparkling with unshed tears. “Is this really happening?” He whispered, switching his glance between the screen of his phone and the earnest expression on Beomgyu’s face.

“Taehyun,” Beomgyu breathed, “I have loved you for the longest time. I know it took me a while to come to my senses, but I want to move on from what happened with Jaesang. I want to journey forward with you by my side. Will you let me?”

Taehyun broke out in the widest grin that Beomgyu has ever seen on him, the very smile that he fell in love with for months on end. 

And then he threw his phone onto his bed.

“Taehyun, what are you doing- mmph.”

Taehyun had cupped his cheeks with both hands and leaned in to kiss him softly on the lips.

Taehyun’s lips were soft, slightly sticky from the strawberry lip balm that Beomgyu had seen him occasionally apply on himself. Beomgyu swears he forgets how to breathe, but he tugs Taehyun closer, deepening the kiss.

Beomgyu may exaggerate, but this kiss somehow felt a little different from their first one. 

One full of determination. One that was resolute to let go of the emotional baggage that Beomgyu had carried on his shoulders for years. One that felt…. A little more freeing. Beomgyu wishes that he could commit this moment to memory, one that he would treasure for all of eternity.

They pull apart, both panting softly, and Beomgyu lets his gaze wander up to Taehyun’s eyes, bright and beautiful like the day that they first met, full of wonder and carrying all the stars in the night sky. Taehyun’s lips were still slightly parted, red and glossy, his cheeks flushed pink, and Beomgyu once again wonders how, after all that had happened to him, that he had the most beautiful boy in the world next to him, who reciprocated the overwhelming feelings that he had. He reaches a shaky hand to cup Taehyun’s cheek, the latter tilting his head to lean into the touch, and Beomgyu is at a loss for words.

He wonders whether he was dreaming, but the warmth of Taehyun’s body next to his speaks otherwise.

“..... Is- is that a yes, or?” Beomgyu asks dumbly, still a little dazed.

Taehyun giggles as he moves to sit on Beomgyu’s lap, wrapping his arms around Beomgyu’s shoulders and letting their noses brush against each other.

“What do you think, doofus?”

Beomgyu smiled as he pulled Taehyun closer, resting their foreheads together.

“I love you so much, Kang Taehyun.”

“I love you too, Choi Beomgyu.”

**_@abeautifulplace_ **

_I love everything about you._

“Well it took you two long enough. We thought that we would be old and sitting in rocking chairs before you two would finally get your acts together.”

“I agree,” Yeonjun says lazily, reaching over to steal Soobin’s fries, the taller boy letting him do so nonchalantly. “If I had to sit through one more day of Taehyunnie pining over you I would have actually gone crazy.”

Taehyun reaches over to smack his step-brother in the shoulder, cheeks flushing quickly to match his hair. Beomgyu giggles and tugs his boyfriend close, planting a kiss in his hair.

“Aw babe, were you that smitten?” He teases, nuzzling his head into Taehyun’s soft curls.

Taehyun refuses to acknowledge that remark, even as he leans in closer towards Beomgyu’s touch. He rolls his eyes as he meets Yeonjun’s smug gaze with a piercing glare of his own. “Hyungie, need I mention about how much you dedicate whole sonnets about S-“

Yeonjun pales and waves his hand frantically, causing Taehyun and Kai to burst out laughing. And that’s when Beomgyu notices the thoughtful look in Soobin’s eyes. 

“Yeonjun-hyung.”

Yeonjun slowly looks up at the sound of Soobin’s voice to meet his gaze. The other three at the table hold their breath.

“So when are you going to stop using pick-up lines and actually ask me out normally?”

Silence.

Yeonjun snaps out of his daze and grabs Soobin’s hand (the latter suddenly looking extremely smug), dragging him out of the restaurant as the younger three break down into another fit of breathless giggles.

**_@abeautifulplace_ **

_Eternity with you sounds pretty nice._

**Author's Note:**

> taegyuists on twitter stop trying to make taegyu angsty challenge >:(  
> (also -clenches fist- i was so close to 10k words, but there was no way i could add to it without it being long and draggy LOL)  
> I tried my best to stick to Beomgyu’s perspective throughout so I’m wondering whether to make a little part 2 that tells parts of the story through diff perspectives (i.e. the other 4, esp taehyun’s), so let me know if you’re interested to see that too!
> 
> Anyway this fic is my baby - it took me so long to finish it. TT i hope you enjoyed this!
> 
> twt: [tataekvng](https://twitter.com/tataekvng)


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